The present invention relates generally to flat article conveying or transporting systems, and more particularly to a new and improved system for use within, for example, mail sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking systems wherein flat mail pieces or units, or similar articles, such as, for example, post cards, magazines, and the like, which would otherwise tend to roll over on themselves in a semi-circular form, as a result of being pre-curled, or as a result of undergoing curvature or sagging, after being released from its conveyor mechanism and introduced into a stacking chamber or compartment within which a stack of mail pieces or articles are accumulated, are effectively prevented from undergoing or experiencing such rollover so as not to adversely affect the continuous mail sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking operations.
In connection with mail or similar flat article sorting, transporting, stacking, and handling systems, flat units or pieces of mail, or similar articles, are conventionally transported by means of a suitable conveyor, such as, for example, a belt conveyor comprising a plurality of laterally spaced endless belts, and the transported pieces of mail or similar articles are then adapted to be stacked within stacked arrays or piles formed within a stacking chamber or receptacle compartment. In view of the fact that different types of pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, having, for example, different size or length dimensions, are being continuously conveyed or transported by means of the transport conveyor mechanism toward and into the stacking chamber or compartment, care must be taken so as to ensure the fact that the pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, are in fact serially placed upon each other in a flat stacked array. This mode of operation, however, is not always able to be readily achieved, and therefore, problems or difficulties often occur in connection with maintaining the system continuously operative with minimum operational downtime.
For example, in connection with the conveyance, transportation, and handling of conventional stiff post cards, and due to the inherent structural characteristics of stiff post cards, that is, that they exhibit a somewhat greater degree of rigidity than, for example, twenty pound weight paper or the like, as a result of being fabricated from a different type of paper product than, for example, twenty pound weight paper, post cards are easily bent and also tend to exhibit or undergo curling. Similarly, magazines have a relatively low degree of rigidity and therefore tend to readily curve downwardly or sag. Accordingly, when such flat articles are being transported or conveyed within a conventional mail sorting, transporting, stacking, and handling system, they can cause operational problems or difficulties because they do not tend to remain in a relatively flattened state. More particularly, when such flat articles are released from the belted conveyor transport and allowed to fly toward and into the stacking chamber or compartment so as to be placed flatly on top of or into a stacked array within the stacking chamber or compartment, the curling of the flat articles often causes leading edge portions of the flat articles to roll over onto themselves in flight or to trip and roll over when encountering a trailing edge portion of a previously stacked flat article within the stacking chamber or compartment.
As a result of such encounter, the incoming flat article is not in fact deposited, in a face up flat orientation, on top of the stacked array of previously stacked units or pieces, or similar articles, or is improperly deposited upon the stacked array of mail pieces or units, whereby subsequent flat articles are not properly deposited upon the stacked array of previous flat articles. In this case, jamming of the conveyor and stacking system can occur necessitating an operational stoppage of the system until the jammed state of the mail pieces or units, or similar flat articles, is able to be rectified. Equally important, even if a jam does not occur, subsequent mail fed to the stack will not always come to rest fully and completely on top of the previously curled piece which had come to rest in a semi-circular form because such curled piece then causes the following piece of mail to nest inside of it. This nesting of the following piece partially inside of the previous semi-rolled-over piece causes an out of order mixed situation to occur with respect to the previously serially sorted flat articles.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system, particularly a conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, wherein the various pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be conveyed or transported, for example, from the belt conveyor toward and into the stacking chamber or compartment in a substantially flat state regardless of the inherent tendency of the particular pieces or units of mail, or similar flat articles, to either curl, curve, or sag, causing partial or complete rollovers, whereby the pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be properly stacked within the stacking chamber or compartment so as not to cause any hindrance to the continuous conveyance or transportation of the pieces or units of mail, or similar flat articles, whereby, further, the article conveyor or transportation system can operate in a substantially continuous manner without experiencing any jamming and wherein the flat articles all stack serially in their previously sorted order.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of pieces or units of mail, or similar flat articles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, and which effectively overcomes the various disadvantages or drawbacks characteristic of current conventional article sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking systems.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, wherein the various pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be conveyed or transported, for example, from the belt conveyor toward and into the stacking chamber or compartment in a substantially flat state regardless of the inherent tendency of the particular pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, to either curl, curve, or sag, causing partial or complete rollovers, whereby the pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be properly serially stacked within the stacking chamber or compartment.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, wherein the various pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be conveyed or transported, for example, from the belt conveyor toward and into the stacking chamber or compartment in a substantially flat state regardless of the inherent tendency of the particular pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, to either curl, curve, or sag, causing partial or complete rollovers, whereby the pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be properly stacked within the stacking chamber or compartment so as not to cause any hindrance to the continuous conveyance or transportation of the pieces or units of mail, or similar flat articles, whereby, further, the article conveyor or transportation system can operate in a substantially continuous manner without experiencing any jamming so as to obviate or render unnecessary required maintenance in order to rectify the problem and to additionally eliminate any operational downtime of the apparatus or system.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved article conveyor or transportation system which is especially useful in connection with the sorting, transporting, handling, and stacking of different pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, and which comprises a belt conveyor for conveying or transporting the pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, and a stacking chamber or compartment within which the conveyed or transported pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, are stacked. In accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, the system comprises a mechanism by means of which a temporary longitudinal crease, spine, or rib is effectively formed or impressed into the piece or unit of mail, or similar flat article. In this manner, the crease, spine, or rib effectively rigidifies the piece or unit of mail, or similar flat article, so as to prevent any downward curling, curving, or sagging of the particular piece or unit of mail, or similar article, whereby the particular piece or unit of mail, or similar flat article, effectively maintains a substantially flattened state so as to be delivered from the belt conveyor and into the stacking chamber or compartment in a proper disposition. Accordingly, continuous stacking of the various pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, can be serially and continuously achieved without the system experiencing jamming and consequent operational stoppages and necessary downtime due to the need for maintenance or repair, and in addition, the flat articles are stacked flat and serially as pre-sorted without undesired intermixing.
The mechanism for achieving the formation of the crease, spine, or rib within the particular piece or unit of mail, or similar article, comprises a forming wheel which is pivotally mounted upon a support wall of the conveyor system and which is adapted to cooperate with a groove in a roller which is rotatably mounted upon a leading edge support bar of the belt conveyor section disposed immediately upstream of the stacking chamber or compartment. A lifter wheel or roller is operatively associated with and disposed upstream of the forming wheel, and the lifter wheel or roller is adapted to engage relatively thick pieces or units of mail, or similar articles, so as to elevate the forming wheel above the relatively thick piece or unit of mail, or similar article, whereby the forming wheel is effectively removed from its cooperative disposition with respect to the grooved roller such that the relatively thick piece or unit of mail, or similar article, will not have a crease, rib, or spine impressed or formed therein in view of the fact that such relatively thick piece or unit of mail, or similar article, does not require such a crease, spine, or rib to be formed therein in order to maintain its substantially rigidity and flattened state. In accordance with an alternative embodiment, the upstream lifter wheel or roller can be eliminated and a suitable actuator can be operatively associated with the forming wheel for lifting the forming wheel out of engagement with the grooved roller when, for example, a piece or unit of mail, or similar article, having a predeterminedly sensed thickness dimension, is detected.